WHEN builders stumbled on a long-forgotten tunnel under Rochdale's Arts and Heritage Centre, it revived childhood memories for Fred Bennett.

WHERE to? Bryn Schofield (left) and Andy Pearce consider this question in front of the tunnel door.

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The Observer revealed how the renovation of the centre had unearthed the tunnel, which ran along the side of the River Roch towards the town centre.

But council officials were at a loss as to its purpose as there were no records of its construction or existence.

But now, the 69-year-old from Emma Street has shone some light through the darkness. As a young boy, Fred took great delight in walking down flight after flight of stairs to a long room where he could play with his friends.

He was unaware of the reasons for these late night jaunts, but along with up to 40 other families, his parents knew all too well because they were hiding from German bombers on the way to Manchester during the Second World War.

Living in the tobacconists on Dane Street owned by his parents, Amy and Fred, he would often be woken by the wail of the air-raid sirens.

He recalled: "As soon as the sirens used to go off we'd get out of bed, get our eiderdowns, lock up and go down the steps. We'd go through the main door of the museum, then we went down the first lot of stairs to a landing and then there was another flight.

"As I remember it we kept going down and down until we got to a narrow passageway."

He said it was the width of a normal hallway and quite tall, but went on for quite a way. It was quite long with no windows and I have visions of there being a sort of metal steel door at the right-hand side. I don't remember there being any damp down there"

But I always thought that we were so far down we must have been further down than the Roch.